Improvement in paper bags



J. ARKBLL au B. SMITH.

' PAPER BAG;

No. 48,036. Patente June 6, 18,65.

111111Wumuuuumw UNITED STATES` .PATENT OFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN PAPER BAGS'.

Specification forming part of letters Patent No. 48,036, dated June 6,1865:

ToA a/ZZ whom t 71mg concern,.-

Be it k'nown that we, JAMEs Annina. and

BENJAMIN SMITH, of Canag oharie, in the county of Montgomery and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Paper Bags; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, v and exact description thereof, which will enable ,others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the` accompanying c drawings, forming part of this specification,

in Which- Figure l represents a paper bag which illustrates tlic principle of our-invention. Fig. 2 gives another illustration thereof. y Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.-

This invention consists in making or pre-1 paring paper bags in suoliv a way as'to give to themattheir-upper ends aiiexible character, so that when properly filled wit-h yflour or other substances the sides of the bags at their upper lends will come together aft-ei' the manner of the sides of a cloth bag.

In putting up flour, sugar, andother articles in bags it is desirable that the mouth of` the bags be gathered up and tied, so that they can be handled and transported in safety. This is the easiest and most suitable Way of securing the mouths of cloth bags; but it has not been found the most suitable way, or even a safe way, of securing the mouths of paper bags as usually made, because the paper is liable to crack along the lines where it is bent or folded in compressing vits sides together,

and the angles of the bends and folds are so" prominent and exposed that they are liable to be chafed and cut and broken by the cord which is tied about them, and a good deal of force is required to compress and bring the sides together into the small compass desired to close the bag. The last-nanied difficultythat is, the force required to close the monthl of the bag-is very considerable in the oase ofthe larger bags, which are intended to hold fifty or one hundred pounds of flour or other articles, and the labor is quite severe upon those who are constantly employed inputting them up, suoli as millers and grocers. Paperv bags of the proper size for such uses need to be made of strong material, well prepared and strengthened by sizing or other equivalent means, Aso as to be capable of holding a great' weight and of resisting a great strain, it being requiredthat some bags be strong enough to sustain a weight of more than two hundred pounds. If the upper part of the paper bag is made more flexible and yielding by reduc# ing the strength and closeness of its texture, or by using poor material, or by lessening the quantity or removing part of the sizing, or using unsiz'ed paper, there isdanger that the bagwill be made unsafe, since bags are often handledby takingl hold of their tops, where they are tied, and lifting them thereby.

We prepare paper bags of every size and quality and strength of paper in sucha way as that their top .parts can be gathered and brought together in easy lines and with u-niformity toward a 'common Center, much after the manner of gatherngthetop of a bag made of cloth. W e accomplish this result by'maln ing the upper part of the bag iieXible-or soft, but Without lessening the strength and toughness of the material.

The drawings show side views of two bags which have had this character of exibility and softness imparted to. their top parts by mechanical means. ljn these illustrations of our invention we have produced this resultI by subjecting those parts to a crushing or bruising action between corrugated surfaces,

the depth of the eorrugations or the degree ot" pressure being greatest at the highest part or 'edge of the bags and decreasing gradually from such edges downward, so that the line of thetermination of the corrugations orof the lim its of pressure Will be, as near as possible," insensible or imperceptible. processis effected inany other manner-aa for instance, by chemical action-the same result -is to be produced-that is to say, the soft or flexible character' 'of the top of the bag is to be least along its lowest lines, and is to be i11- creased thence upward tov the edges or top of If theA softening shown in Fig. 1, or in several series of lines, Softening the upper parts of paper bags and one of which may be Vertical and others anmaking them pliable, ysubstantially as and for guiar or oblique.y These maybe made in sucthe purpose above described. eessive operations, repeated until the rigid v character of the paper is suiciently subdued JAMES ARKELL. and the partys operated upon are made suf- BENJAMIN SMITH. cienbly pliable to allow the mouth of the-bag to be gathered and tied with ease andV safety, Witnesses: as above explained. M. M. LIVINGSTON,

XVe claim as new and desire fo secure by C. L. TOPLIFF.

Letters Patent* 

